Sometimes, plans change. Today was one of those days. As you may have seen from yesterday's blog post and the air pollution forecast - it was not great for the second day. We were asked to wear our masks for the first part of the morning because that is when the air quality was going to be at its worst.
Today, though long, was altogether great! We began our day with yet another flavourful breakfast, leaving the hotel at 8:30am (which is 6:30 pm Monday evening in Calgary)...assuming you are reading this in Calgary! We hopped on the bus and headed out to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Coming from someone who doesn't particularly enjoy crowds it turned out to be a bit overwhelming What is even more overwhelming is that it wasn't even peak season yet - and if it was there would be about 150,000+ per day visiting this area! Needless to say, I am glad it wasn't peak season.
Grant, our amazing tour guide led us through the waves of people and showed us some remarkable buildings. They probably do not look as big in the pictures, but take our word for it - they are!
It was a very cultural time. The security was crazy, a lot more then I have seen anywhere in Calgary. It made me reflect on our culture and history, as well as how much we value it. We don't really have any big monuments or things to protect. The most security I have ever seen is at a hockey game or an airport. It really goes to show where our values lie! I still can't say which I would prefer though. Trust is big, but so is the protection of culture. Though, I guess without much culture to protect, trust comes quite easy...It was a fun time and gave me a lot to reflect on!
Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City was a total of 5 km of ancient scenery, and while we walked we saw many beautiful buildings and intricate designs. There were thousands of people there and many asked to take pictures with us which made us laugh. The walk was long and the ground was uneven but the view and pictures were definitely worth it. The best building we went to was the Imperial Palace. It was a nightmare to try and take a picture of the inside. People would push you over and once you finally made it to the front you would be shoved aside so you had to hang on in order to take your picture. On our way out there was man made rock that had the Chinese zodiacs carved in. We tried to find the zodiacs but we only found 3. Then we headed on our way to lunch.
For lunch we ate at an authentic all vegetarian restaurant. We were served all vegetarian food that looked and tasted like authentic meat. For example at one point we were served a dish that looked and tasted exactly like italian sausage. After lunch we headed towards the national museum.
Naturally, It was an enormous museum. Elegant in its statue and brilliant in its structure. The museum is responsibility of telling the story of China's past, present, and future. And It does so with such grace.
After the museum we travelled to Tiananmen Street which is a local shopping district. It was full of local clothing stores. Ms. Bradbury bought some amazing fashions that she is excited to wear to the Education Centre. There were also lots of local street food vendors (which we didn't eat - we just looked!), trinkets and souvenirs.
The last part of our day was supper which took place at 1412 - a famous local Peking Duck restaurant! And yes, it opened in 1412. The chef carved the meat in front of the students and then showed us how to make perfect wraps using chopsticks. Everyone had fun trying to make their duck wraps perfect - but we all think Sumaira did the best job!
We are very sad to think that we only have two more full days in Beijing. We have seen so much, had amazing experiences and become the best of friends in the process. Tomorrow we are off to another local high school in the morning with other adventures in the afternoon and evening. Update you tomorrow :) Good night from Beijing!
By: Julia, Sumaira, Cynthia, Emily, Brenda, Hillary & Tracy
Today, though long, was altogether great! We began our day with yet another flavourful breakfast, leaving the hotel at 8:30am (which is 6:30 pm Monday evening in Calgary)...assuming you are reading this in Calgary! We hopped on the bus and headed out to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Coming from someone who doesn't particularly enjoy crowds it turned out to be a bit overwhelming What is even more overwhelming is that it wasn't even peak season yet - and if it was there would be about 150,000+ per day visiting this area! Needless to say, I am glad it wasn't peak season.
Grant, our amazing tour guide led us through the waves of people and showed us some remarkable buildings. They probably do not look as big in the pictures, but take our word for it - they are!
It was a very cultural time. The security was crazy, a lot more then I have seen anywhere in Calgary. It made me reflect on our culture and history, as well as how much we value it. We don't really have any big monuments or things to protect. The most security I have ever seen is at a hockey game or an airport. It really goes to show where our values lie! I still can't say which I would prefer though. Trust is big, but so is the protection of culture. Though, I guess without much culture to protect, trust comes quite easy...It was a fun time and gave me a lot to reflect on!
Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City was a total of 5 km of ancient scenery, and while we walked we saw many beautiful buildings and intricate designs. There were thousands of people there and many asked to take pictures with us which made us laugh. The walk was long and the ground was uneven but the view and pictures were definitely worth it. The best building we went to was the Imperial Palace. It was a nightmare to try and take a picture of the inside. People would push you over and once you finally made it to the front you would be shoved aside so you had to hang on in order to take your picture. On our way out there was man made rock that had the Chinese zodiacs carved in. We tried to find the zodiacs but we only found 3. Then we headed on our way to lunch.
For lunch we ate at an authentic all vegetarian restaurant. We were served all vegetarian food that looked and tasted like authentic meat. For example at one point we were served a dish that looked and tasted exactly like italian sausage. After lunch we headed towards the national museum.
Naturally, It was an enormous museum. Elegant in its statue and brilliant in its structure. The museum is responsibility of telling the story of China's past, present, and future. And It does so with such grace.
After the museum we travelled to Tiananmen Street which is a local shopping district. It was full of local clothing stores. Ms. Bradbury bought some amazing fashions that she is excited to wear to the Education Centre. There were also lots of local street food vendors (which we didn't eat - we just looked!), trinkets and souvenirs.
The last part of our day was supper which took place at 1412 - a famous local Peking Duck restaurant! And yes, it opened in 1412. The chef carved the meat in front of the students and then showed us how to make perfect wraps using chopsticks. Everyone had fun trying to make their duck wraps perfect - but we all think Sumaira did the best job!
We are very sad to think that we only have two more full days in Beijing. We have seen so much, had amazing experiences and become the best of friends in the process. Tomorrow we are off to another local high school in the morning with other adventures in the afternoon and evening. Update you tomorrow :) Good night from Beijing!
By: Julia, Sumaira, Cynthia, Emily, Brenda, Hillary & Tracy